


Pretty Brown Eyed Boy.

by joshdunistherealest



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Alcohol, Best Friends, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Mutual Pining, Requited Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-28
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-18 19:02:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7326586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joshdunistherealest/pseuds/joshdunistherealest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nothing hurts worse than needing someone who doesn't even love you like you love them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Electric sparks.

"Rainbow Road is obviously the best level, Josh" Tyler spoke, holding a controller in one hand and a soda in the other. He peered over at Josh curiously.  
  
"Nah, I think you're just insane. When the hell can anyone stay on that track. You're like a superhuman or something." Josh chuckled, meeting his eyes with that crinkly eyed smile of his  
  
"Mm, maybe I'm an alien." Tyler mock gasped, falling into Josh's lap "Oh noooo, I've been probed."  
  
Josh pouted down at him, tossing aside his controller and leaning back against the couch behind them. "No, you're just a dork."   
  
"I was trying to appeal to your aesthetic, as a best friend should." Tyler blinked up at him, his tongue in between his teeth in a smile as he laughed at Josh. "Spooky."  
  
Josh watched his tongue move for a moment, a small heat rising in his cheeks, which he ignored as he slowly lifted a pillow from the couch and hit Tyler right in the face with it.  
  
Tyler yelped, springing up from his lap and taking off up the stairs of his house. Josh followed suit, chasing him, his hands reaching out to try and catch him while he least expected it. When he finally caught up to his best friend, he scooped him up from behind, making him squeal as he began tickling him, lowering him to the floor. His skin felt warm under Josh's fingers.  
  
"No! wait, Josh-!" Tyler collapsed into a fit of giggles, squirming under Josh as he straddled him. He tried to fight his hands back, weakly.  
  
"I got you!" Josh beamed, ceasing the tickling to look down at Tyler's face, getting quiet when he finally met Tyler's eyes. Tyler's eyes alone held the universe, and it made Josh look at him in complete and utter awe for a few prolonged seconds, no other noise in the room than their quiet breathing.  
  
Josh finally snapped out of it, shaking his head and standing. "Dude, that was so gay." Josh laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.  
  
"Hah, yeah." Tyler cleared his throat, standing up and covering up his warm, tan skin with his hoodie. Josh let himself stare for a while.  
  
"So uh, pizza?" Josh tried to change the subject, looking at a disheveled Tyler with a soft blush.  
  
                                                                                                                                               ~  
  
Tyler gently adjusted the sheets on his bed, smoothing out the creases in his bed covers, peering over at Josh. "If you want, you can look in my drawer for something to wear to bed. I'll put your clothes in the wash." Tyler looked sad all of the sudden, fists weakly gripping the sheets as he spoke again. "I'm gonna miss you, Joshua. A lot."  
  
Josh stared for a second at Tyler, bent over the bed, his hands moving the sheets, and god damn it if he didnt feel a blush rising up to his face. "I'll be back in time for our next show. It's only a few weeks, Tyler, then it'll be us and the crew again out on the road." He cleared his throat.  "I think. . .I think I might sleep on the floor tonight, y'know, to give you more space." Josh loved sleeping beside Tyler, but he really thought this was for the best, he shouldn't have been having these thoughts about his best friend. Especially his _taken_ and **_straight_** best friend.   
  
"Suit yourself I guess. Floors cold, so I'll have to give you some blankets." Tyler pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it onto the floor. He began to pull off his jeans when Josh suddenly spoke up, voice high and crackly.  
  
"I-I think I left something in my car, I'll be right back, okay?" Josh rushed out of the room, down the stairs, and outside onto the front porch, sitting himself down on a patio chair. He drew in a thick breath. What had gotten into him? It was another dude. It wasn't a big deal, so why was he basically suffering every time he saw Tyler smile, laugh or even just be Tyler?  
  
Josh sat there until he felt the air grow cold, and the final sliver of sunshine disappear beyond the horizon. His peace and quiet was interrupted when he felt two arms wrap around his shoulders, and hot breath against his neck. Josh jumped in surprise, turning around to find Tyler.  
  
"Dude, it's been an hour and a half, and I don't think the porch is your car. Come to bed, Josh. " Tyler whined, playing with the hem of Josh's shirt from behind.   
  
Josh flinched away from his touch. "Don't touch me." He snapped, moving away from his hands.   
  
"The hell, dude? I'm your best friend." Tyler furrowed his brows, looking slightly hurt by his comment.  
  
"I know, I'm sorry, I'm just not feeling good, alright?" Josh stood, heading into the house with a huff. He felt bad about snapping at Tyler, but at least he knew Tyler wasn't going to be so clingy tonight.  
  
Tyler followed guiltily, his head down, pouting. "Sorry J, I didn't know." His voice was soft, and so was his tone, as he raced upstairs first. He had an expression of something like embarrassment.  
  
The look Tyler gave him as they finally settled into bed was almost heartbreaking. Josh had made a comfortable (well, as comfortable as a floor can be) bed on the floor out of fluffy, soft blankets. "Night, Josh." Tyler sighed, rolling over the opposite direction, facing away from Josh completely.  
  
"Night Tyjo." Josh offered a smile, but before he could, he noticed Tyler was already turned over.   
  
Josh nestled into his covers.  
  
He didn't get much sleep that night.


	2. Liquor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tyler gently reached up, grabbing a hold of Josh's shirt. "Stay?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SORRY THIS IS SHORT, the nEXT CHAPTER WILL BE LONGER I PROMISE!!!
> 
> my tumblr is joshdunistherealest. feel free to ask me questions or prompt me.

Josh and Tyler started off their tour great, the venues were packed full, shows were sold out, and the crowd was as exuberant as ever. The fans were relentless, and it just fueled the boys adrenaline.  
  
After the second venue of the tour, Tyler decided to go out with some friends. Josh had stayed back at the hotel because contrary to popular belief, drinking was not his thing at all, and they had a show tomorrow. He didn't want to be nursing a hangover while seemingly playing the loudest instrument ever made.  
  
Josh had just scrolled through his Tumblr dash and Twitter feed, awaiting his best friends arrival with pictures of cats and some funny, weird memes to show Tyler. Interrupting the silence, Josh heard a sharp knock at the hotel door, and he jumped up immediately.  
  
An obviously inebriated Tyler stumbled in, a giggling mess with probably half a beer in his hand. "Dude! You totally missed out!" Tyler slurred, plopping down on his bed. "The party was crazy. 'n get this! Brendon was there!"  
  
Rolling his eyes, Josh shut the door, sitting beside Tyler calmly, preparing for the enevitable rant that Tyler was about to go on. He ever so gently eased Tyler down, laying him across his lap and carding his hands through his hair. "Oh really?"  
  
"Yeah! an' like, we decided to play spin the bottle, right? I totally macked the _ffffuuck_ out of Urie, dude." Tyler reached up weakly. "Don' worry. Was totally thinkin' of you while doin' it" Tyler gave his goofy smile, dimples very apparent, his cheeks highlighted by a deep blush.  
  
Josh's eyes widened at the comment, and he too began blushing all the way down to his neck, clearing his throat. Tyler didn't mean that. He wouldn't. He was straight, and it was bad enough that he kissed some other dude while he was _married._  
   
"Ooohkay, that's about enough, Tyguy. Let's get you to bed, huh?" Josh sighed, scooping Tyler up in his arms. Tyler instinctively wrapped his legs around his waist, and his arms around his neck, breathing softly and humming into the side of his neck. "Stop that." Josh mumbled.  
  
"I don't wann' go to sleep. " Tyler huffed, lolling his head from side to side. "Please, Joshie." He whimpered, pulling back to look at Josh with those dewy brown eyes of his, batting his eyelashes.  
  
Josh scoffed, pulling the covers aside and laying Tyler down on the bed with a soft "Nope."   
  
Gently, he pulled Tyler's shoes off, as well as his shirt, pausing a minute to admire the soft tan skin underneath with a sigh, evidently staring too long because Tyler had started to get squirmy. "Take your jeans off, I can't imagine those are comfy." Josh offered, averting his eyes and swallowing a thick lump in his throat. Tyler's body was really something else.  
  
"Can't you do it for me?" Tyler pouted up at Josh, the tip of his left forefinger in his mouth, and his legs spread wide. Josh was lucky enough to not be looking at this point as he dragged Tyler's skinny jeans off his hips. "Up." He patted Tyler's leg, signalling him to lift his body so he could get the pants off Tyler's hips with expert speed.  
  
Tyler cooed happily as Josh slid one of his loose shirts on him, pulling the blanket back over and tucking him in.  
  
"G'night, you dork." Josh smiled fondly down at his best friend, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead, earning a whine from Tyler.  
  
Tyler gently reached up, grabbing a hold of Josh's shirt. "Stay?" He mumbles, loosening his grip enough for his hand to fall back against his own stomach.  
  
Josh's heart melted, and he begrudgingly slid under the covers, wrapping his arms around the frail boy next to him. "Now will you go to sleep?"

Tyler was asleep before he could get an answer, cuddled against Josh's chest with soft little whimpers falling from him as he got comfortable.   
  
Josh lied awake for a while, lazily stroking across Tyler's cheek.  
  
He took in every prominent feature of Tyler. The soft freckles on his shoulders, the long eyelashes, the thin fingers and tiny build, and his soft hair. Tyler Joseph was beautiful.   
  
Josh knew this.  
  
Josh also knew he was royally fucked,  
  
because he was not so subtly falling in love with his straight, married, and drop dead gorgeous best friend.  
  
This was going to be a long ride.


	3. Tainted Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So no, his love wasn't the waxy, gleaming poetic kind.
> 
> It was the sitting-under-a-tree-and-trying-to-keep-breathing-kind.

In short, Josh wants to run.  
  
  
He wants to run away from his problems again because he tells himself it's the only thing he's capable of, because otherwise he'd be nothing short of dead from the emotional toll. He'd come to a conclusion that feelings simply weren't his thing, they always ended up for nothing in the end.  
  
  
Like the "thing" he had with Debby. They broke up because halfway through they woke up and realized what they had wasn't love, and it wasn't even trying to be.  
  
  
Josh doesn't want that with Tyler.  
  
  
Josh wants to love Tyler with all his heart, keep him protected. He wants to curl up with Tyler on those chilly tour nights where Tyler somehow _has_ to have ice cream when it's negative three degrees outside and he still has snowflakes in his hair.  
  
  
God, his hair.   
  
  
So Josh runs, at three AM on a hotel night, he runs.   
  
  
He runs until his feet get numb, but he can't stop moving because he doesn't feel his legs under him and he has no control to stop it. He's got his cellphone in his pocket, and it's been ringing for the past ten minutes, but the vibration on his side just became part of the white noise in his mind.   
  
  
For some reason, he stops at a park, breathing heavy as he puts his hands on his knees to ground himself, staring at the pavement.  
  
  
Once Josh catches his breath, he heads into the park, sitting down under a willow tree.  So fucking poetic, right?  
  
  
Wrong, because he was sitting under this willow tree crying about a dude who'd never realistically love him back and dissociating because of over stimulation.   
  
  
That was the reality of it.  
  
  
So no, his love wasn't the waxy, gleaming poetic kind you see in those movies.  
  
  
It was the sitting-under-a-tree-and-trying-to-keep-breathing-kind.  
  
  
 _Kind_ , Josh thought.  
  
  
 _Kind_ like Tyler's eyes, or his pristine white smile with softly crooked teeth that made Josh feel like he was ready to explode.  
  
  
 _Kind_ like Tyler's laugh, and his hands when he meets fans, and his eyes when they tell him how much of an inspiration he was to them. They were right, he was an inspiration. A beautiful mess of an inspiration wrapped in late nights of banging on a piano to forget feelings.  
  
  
See, that's what they had in common.   
  
  
They used music to escape. They would fade in and out of the conscious world, focusing on themselves and their respective instruments.  
  
  
Maybe that's not an appropriate self-care, but it was a damn good one to them.  
  
  


* * *

  
Josh decides to stop moping around when the sun decides to rise, climbing to his feet and only getting a mild head-rush as he bolts back to the hotel.  
  
  
In hindsight, deciding to have a pity party the night before a really important venue was not the best thing to do.  
  
  


* * *

  
"Can you stop?" Tyler snapped, turning his head to Josh. "You've been tapping your drumsticks on the wall for the past 20 minutes, I think you've got your jitters out by now, dude." The singer huffs, leaning up against said wall. "We're going on in 5."  
  
  
"Uh, sure, but-" Josh stops his movements, furrowing his eyebrows together at Tyler. "Don't you think you're being a little harsh?"  
  
  
Tyler was always moody right before a show, the adrenaline coursing through his body and making him sick to his stomach. It was one of the downsides to performing for big crowds like this, anxiety was at an all time high.  
  
  
"Don't be such a wuss." Tyler hisses through his teeth before his eyes widened, and he almost is brought to tears. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to come off so- it's just-"  
  
  
"It's fine, really." Josh had deep bags under his eyes, but they we're covered up by deep red stage makeup. Tyler could see through the facade though, and immediately started spilling out apologies.  
  
  
"Oh gosh, did you get any sleep? I'm so mean, I'm terrible, I'm a really bad best friend." Tyler's hands shook. "What if they hate me?"  
  
  
Josh sighed, obviously exhausted, but staring at Tyler so distraught made his heart hurt. "They won't, they love you, I love you, and no matter what you'll be great, this is what you do best." He pauses, a blush creeping up his neck. "I mean-I love you as a bro and all not-"  
  
  
"Josh." Tyler stepped closer.  
  
  
"That'd be totally weird for me to love you more, right? I mean, totally, haha." Josh forces a laugh, continuing to ramble.  
  
  
"Josh!" Tyler yelled, his dewy brown eyes soft.  
  
  
Josh sat in silence, bottom lip jutting out the slightest bit with a huff.  
  
  
"I love you too. Don't worry yourself." Tyler cooed, smiling his million dollar smile and leaning his head against Josh's, making the pink-haired boy tremble slightly. "You're my best friend!"   
  
  
"Oh." Josh's face fell, feigning happiness. "You're my best friend too!"  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
